Dick White Referrals – one of the largest specialist veterinary centres in Europe – is among five referral practices being sold off by Pets at Home.
The company has agreed the sale of its Specialist Group to the Linnaeus Group, in a deal that could reach £100m.
Linnaeus Group, a subsidiary of Mars Veterinary Health, has more than 150 veterinary clinics across the UK.
The five referral practices that make up Pets at Home’s Specialist Group are: Dick White Referrals (Cambridgeshire); Anderson Moores (Hampshire); Northwest Veterinary Specialists (Cheshire); Eye Vet (Cheshire); and Veterinary Specialists Scotland (Livingston).
The deal comprises £80m in cash on completion and deferred cash consideration of £20m, payable upon certain financial milestones being met in the future. The disposal is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2021 and is subject to a limited number of customary conditions and approvals.
FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS
Pets at Home’ group CEO Peter Pritchard, said: “This disposal does not deviate from our core focus of providing customers with affordable, convenient, engaging and flexible pet care solutions through our growing online platform and estate of 440 First Opinion veterinary practices and 451 stores.
“The disposal represents a great outcome for all of our stakeholders. Linnaeus is a well-regarded operator of veterinary practices with a strong and established track record of practice management. We hold them in high regard and they will be a great home for our highly-skilled colleagues in the Specialist Group, underpinned by an ongoing commitment to specialist multi-disciplinary veterinary care, supported by Mars.
“For our First Opinion Joint Venture partners and retail colleagues, the disposal allows realignment of financial and operational resource to support them in doing even more for our customers and their pets. For our shareholders, the disposal proceeds provide the group with additional resource to accelerate growth across our customer-focused pet care platform.”
ACQUISITION
In a separate deal Pets at Home has acquired independent veterinary telehealth provider The Vet Connection for £15m.
The Vet Connection was founded in 2002 and delivers on-demand veterinary telehealth advice, and triage and ancillary services to pet owners.
Pets at Home said it plans to pilot the service within a selection of company-owned practices, with the potential to also offer the service within its joint venture partner estate.
Peter Pritchard said the acquisition marked an important step in the “development of our digital capabilities.”
